Joe Flint

The hearing quickly turned into that sort of thing. One side is attacking them for their politics. The other side is defending Sesame Street.

The hearing quickly turned into that sort of thing. One side is attacking them for their politics. The other side is defending Sesame Street.

The hearing quickly turned into that sort of thing. One side is attacking them for their politics. The other side is defending Sesame Street.

Well, these things, usually there's hearings, there's lots of talk, but they don't go anywhere. And one of the reasons they don't go anywhere is there are even a lot of Republican lawmakers from rural areas that count heavily on those public media stations. So they also may not be in the biggest rush to get rid of them because they're important to their constituents. We have a president right now

Well, these things, usually there's hearings, there's lots of talk, but they don't go anywhere. And one of the reasons they don't go anywhere is there are even a lot of Republican lawmakers from rural areas that count heavily on those public media stations. So they also may not be in the biggest rush to get rid of them because they're important to their constituents. We have a president right now

Well, these things, usually there's hearings, there's lots of talk, but they don't go anywhere. And one of the reasons they don't go anywhere is there are even a lot of Republican lawmakers from rural areas that count heavily on those public media stations. So they also may not be in the biggest rush to get rid of them because they're important to their constituents. We have a president right now

who is very confident in his ability to get what he wants through executive order, through muscling his way through situations. And so he issued in May, early May, an executive order saying that all funding for public media should stop.

who is very confident in his ability to get what he wants through executive order, through muscling his way through situations. And so he issued in May, early May, an executive order saying that all funding for public media should stop.

who is very confident in his ability to get what he wants through executive order, through muscling his way through situations. And so he issued in May, early May, an executive order saying that all funding for public media should stop.

I think there's certainly a perception that over the last 20 years, NPR has gotten more liberal. Former NPR employee Yuri Berliner, of course, wrote a piece for the Free Press many months ago outlining, in his view, just how liberal NPR has become over the last decade.

I think there's certainly a perception that over the last 20 years, NPR has gotten more liberal. Former NPR employee Yuri Berliner, of course, wrote a piece for the Free Press many months ago outlining, in his view, just how liberal NPR has become over the last decade.

I think there's certainly a perception that over the last 20 years, NPR has gotten more liberal. Former NPR employee Yuri Berliner, of course, wrote a piece for the Free Press many months ago outlining, in his view, just how liberal NPR has become over the last decade.

You know, the NPR audience tends to be an urban audience in big cities that are usually democratically run and that a lot of their content is geared towards those folks. There's nothing wrong with that. I think for the administration, their argument is, well, no, but why should we have to fund it?

You know, the NPR audience tends to be an urban audience in big cities that are usually democratically run and that a lot of their content is geared towards those folks. There's nothing wrong with that. I think for the administration, their argument is, well, no, but why should we have to fund it?

You know, the NPR audience tends to be an urban audience in big cities that are usually democratically run and that a lot of their content is geared towards those folks. There's nothing wrong with that. I think for the administration, their argument is, well, no, but why should we have to fund it?

Certainly, there's always been an argument to be made that given the debt, given all the things that we need to cut and look at where we spend our money and what we need to invest in and what we don't, that public media maybe isn't the priority it was when the Public Broadcasting Act was created in 1967. And in the grand scheme of things, it's a relatively small amount of money.

Certainly, there's always been an argument to be made that given the debt, given all the things that we need to cut and look at where we spend our money and what we need to invest in and what we don't, that public media maybe isn't the priority it was when the Public Broadcasting Act was created in 1967. And in the grand scheme of things, it's a relatively small amount of money.

Certainly, there's always been an argument to be made that given the debt, given all the things that we need to cut and look at where we spend our money and what we need to invest in and what we don't, that public media maybe isn't the priority it was when the Public Broadcasting Act was created in 1967. And in the grand scheme of things, it's a relatively small amount of money.

But nonetheless, it's still $535 million a year. It's not a drop in the bucket. So, I mean, you know, is there a rationale that it should be at least discussed? Yeah.

But nonetheless, it's still $535 million a year. It's not a drop in the bucket. So, I mean, you know, is there a rationale that it should be at least discussed? Yeah.